Toxic Dried Black Mushrooms From China

Comments by Chef X against the "Health Hazard Alert" Below:

1. First of all, the "Dried Black Mushroom" you are talking about does have a name, it's called "Shintake". Yes, it has a Japanese name even though it's most likely originated from China. I believe this is because the "Englandman" thinks it's cooler to call it "Shintake" rather than "Donggu" ("Winter Mushroom" in Chinese) or worse, "Dried Black Mushroom" ... That's quite a mouthful, wouldn't you agree ?

2. Second, you said people also use up the 'soaking water' of the mushroom to cook meal is kind of bizarre to me. I see no reason why would people do that ... ? It's like you also use the dirty water that you used to wash car to mop the floor or something like that ? Is water that previous that you must save every drop of it or what ? Perhaps the Arabs should this ... for water is really scarce there.

3. Lastly, what is so scary about food having an acceptable level of chemicals? Chemicals are found in every imaginable food and beverage if only you bother to find out more ... Coke, burger, fries, even mi goreng ! Am I kidding you ? No, I am serious. The is a reason why the mi is yellow in color, wheat flour is not yellow color an deven you really knock a few eggs inside (which there is none in Malaysia's Mi Goreng) it's still not that kind rich yellow color ... believe me, it's casued a a chemical to make the mi more 'springy'.

4. Anyway, people should plant and farm their own food using organic fertilizer ie. cow dung and chicken shit if they don't like and having phobia over chemical. Nothing wrong to go organic for it's really a matter of choice, in fact, organic is a powerful term but personally, I think it's just a myth organic stuffs are any healthier or better nutritionally. Plus, it's a economic disaster ... Hey, I am no Mamak Mahathir, I don't have hundred and hundred of billions to throw around. Oh, speaking of the Mamak, I think he is a zillion times scarier than the "Dried Black Mushrooms From China".

4. Over the last one decade or, I discovered there are actually a few more varieties of mushroom that are really yummy ... I recommend Portabello The Big Brownie if you are having a grilled dish and the best of all is the Prince Mushroom (not sure if this is its official name) ... taste even better than Abolone (to me) ... and can cook in any style ... best with Cantonese Wok!

Email Sharing : Dried Black Mushrooms From China

from VOICES AROUND by Kenn

Another produce from a country tipped to be the next economy giant.

I'm forwarding this writeup as I know the dried Chinese black mushrooms are often used in Chinese dishes, liking it a lot myself.

Subject: Dried black mushrooms from China

Email from Fred Chin, one of our Chinatown old timers

I just had some dried black mushrooms and fortunately drained the soak water. It has been found that Mushrooms from China contain carbon disulfide in them. Not sure what this chemical does if consumed and the amount of concern. So I googled to do a quick check out and found that carbon disulfide is a pesticide/ fungicide with acceptable/legal residue levels defined for fresh/dried foods. Anyway, safest is to dump the soak liquid and not use it in the cooking process.

China's regulations are questionable. This message is toward you against using the water you soak your mushrooms in.

Most of the mushrooms on the market are from China, and are contaminated with chemicals (I think it is carbon disulfide, or disulfide, (correct me if I am wrong) which are soluble in water. You must discard the water that you soak the dried mushrooms in to soften it.

According to Mr. L.W. Chan of the Health Department, most mushrooms were smuggled into the country from China. The recent opening of traffic between China and Taiwan made it difficult for the government to control these illegal activities.

We can only suggest that we should best use Taiwanese mushrooms or Japanese Shiitake Mushrooms. It is advisable to soak them in water before cooking and the water used to soak the mushrooms must be thrown away. Mr. Chan continued to say that it is customary and a common practice for people to cook the mushrooms with the water saved from soaking. This habit should stop, because most fertilizers used in farming were water soluble.We still do not know the outcome of how the Japanese are looking at our research but according to their tests in the past, it was known that the mushrooms were contaminated by the fertilizer.

Mushrooms originally contained sulfur and when mixed in with fertilizer, the carbonate test showed a 20% higher reading on carbon disulfide which made it difficult to obtain a reliable reading on results.

Guys, please forward this to your wives, daughters, girlfriends, family, and others you know who use dried black mushrooms.

** Sulfide has potential to cause allergy, mostly asthmatic. 10% of asthma cases are cause by allergy to sulfides. It is a preservative, but strictly regulated.